Hindemith - Ludus Tonalis

Hindemith wrote Ludus tonalis in 1942 while staying the US as a refugee from Nazi Germany. The hour-long piano cycle itself finds refuge from conflict in the reassertion of the time-honoured value of counterpoint, comprising twelve fugues and interludes framed by a prelude and its mirror image as a postlude. It's a monument of modern keyboard literature whose forbidding reputation is belied by the approachable and highly varied nature of Hindemith's writing.

There is a unique authority to this recording made in October 1965 for the Philips label by the Estonian-Swedish pianist Käbi Laretei. Having been coached by the composer in the cycle a decade earlier, she incorporated his performance suggestions and amendments to the score into her performance. She recorded Ludus tonalis in a New York studio a few days after presenting it at Carnegie Hall, where she had won over the audience not only with her performance but also a question-and-answer session after the concert.